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‘Frightening’: UN human rights team blocked in NT prisons and youth detention centres
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‘Frightening’: UN human rights team blocked in NT prisons and youth detention centres

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A United Nations working group on arbitrary detention has been denied access to government-run facilities in the Northern Territory while trying to assess “deprivation of liberty” in Australia.
The UN working body announced plans in November to visit the Australian Capital Territory, NSW and Western Australia, and was expected to arrive in the Northern Territory on December 7.
But senior corrections managers in the NT have reportedly told their staff they could not meet the official request.
In a statement to SBS News, NT Corrections Minister Gerard Maley said this was due to “operational capacity, safety and workforce resource priorities” during this period.

“Detention centers in the territory operate under established, independent statutory oversight, with strong safeguards and accountability for all people in detention and custody.”

Photo of Cell M3 at Palmerston Watch House in the Northern Territory believed to hold 17 prisoners. Created on February 12, 2025. Source: Delivered / NT Police

The human rights body said it planned to meet with government officials, independent monitoring bodies, civil society groups and other relevant stakeholders.

A statement also said the delegation of two experts would collect information from prisons, police stations and from migrants and people with psychosocial disabilities.

Watchdog report finds ‘extremely poor’ conditions

An NT Ombudsman inquiry into guardhouses, which was released to the public on November 27, described the housing of prisoners in police guardhouses as “unreasonable and oppressive”.

Acting Ombudsman Bronwynn Haack found that prisoners suffered extreme confinement, sleep deprivation, inhumane access to toilets and widespread deterioration in physical and mental health.

“Conditions for Territory prisoners held in police guardhouses during this period were unacceptably poor in a number of key respects,” Haack’s foreword reads.

“No prisoner, regardless of his or her offense, should be held under such conditions.”

A man in a suit speaking on a podium indoors. Behind him are an Australian and a Northern Territory flag

NT Deputy Prime Minister and Corrections Minister Gerad Maley answered a question about the UN visit during a press conference to announce a gas deal on Tuesday. Source: SBS news / Josh van Staden

Lia Finocchiaro’s CLP government said it welcomed the NT ombudsman’s inquiry report into conditions for prisoners in NT police guardhouses.

In a statement, Maley said the report reflected “years of neglect by Labor.”
“But I want to make it clear: we will continue to do whatever it takes to ensure we reduce crime across the area.

“We make no apologies for restoring the rights of victims and the community, and I have said many times, if you do the wrong thing, we will get you a bed.”

Keeping staff ‘safe’

At a press conference on a major gas deal with Beetaloo Energy Australia on Tuesday, Maley answered just one question about the UN visit, saying the move to block the human rights monitor’s visit was about “security”.
“We have worked hard and we have now brought the prison to a capacity where we believe it is operational,” he said.

“This is about staff safety, and I have complete confidence in the staff with corrections officers [to] are doing their jobs, and we are focused on keeping Territorians safe.”

A woman wearing a red and white sleeveless dress stands outside for a photo

NT Independent MP Justine Davis. Source: supplied.

Independent MP says it’s ‘really scary’

NT Member for Johnston Justine Davis told SBS that if the government was confident its prisons met basic standards they would let the UN inspectors in.

According to NT Corrections’ latest annual report, the average prison population has increased by 15 per cent in the past year.

“It is outrageous and truly frightening for a government to say that United Nations human rights inspectors cannot enter prisons under these conditions.
“We are the most incarcerated population in Australia, and we have the highest percentage of Indigenous people in the world, per capita.”
NT pre-trial detention statistics show that more than 1,000 Territorians were detained without a guilty verdict in November.

Davis has called on the government to grant immediate UN access and take their findings seriously.

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention plans to release its preliminary observations from its Australian trip on December 12, with a final report to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2026.

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